A Thank You to the Chicago Bulls

As a Chicago fan in the last decade or so, it's become obvious that the Chicago Bulls are not the same franchise as they were in the '90s.

They didn't have Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Phil Jackson, and a dynasty that was one of the most dominate in sports history.

Throughout the city of Chicago teams like the Bears, Cubs, and Sox seemed to be more buzzed about and more anticipated for.

Now, the Chicago Bulls are the talk of the town. What did they do? They lost in the first round of the playoffs as a seven seed, and yet their popularity has elevated to a level comparable of that of the '90 Bulls. If that doesn't say something about how important and amazing that first-round series was, I don't know what would.

The Chicago Bulls forced a Game Seven against the defending champions in a series that many were predicting would be a miracle if the Bulls even saw Game Six.

But then Kevin Garnett took a fall and the right pieces fell into place for the Chicago Bulls.

Derrick Rose made the name for himself that everyone expected would eventually happen, just not as soon as it did. Ben Gordon gave himself a much larger probability of continuing his career in Chicago.

Joakim Noah proved that he was not a wasted first-round pick and Kirk Hinrich showed that he has the defensive potential of the best in the league.

The Chicago Bulls made a new name for themselves. They no longer need to be compared to the '90s Bulls, they no longer need to be dubbed the "Baby Bulls". They are a playoff experienced team with great potential and now everyone realizes that.

I want to thank the Chicago Bulls for restoring my faith in the NBA, for reminding me of what is so great about the game of basketball, and of course for reminding me of the love and passion I have for this Chicago franchise.

I think about everyone would agree, Bulls fan or not, that when these playoffs are all said and done, this first-round series will not be soon forgotten. People will hope for more first-round series like this next season and for the infinite amount of seasons after.